Union Solidarity

General Motors workers in Silao, Mexico have ratified a new collective agreement – the first negotiated by their CILAS/Unifor-backed independent union – that gives them a voice in the workplace for the first time, more money and improved working conditions.

TORONTO – In the face of increasing harassment of journalists and media workers online, made worse by polarizing politics and the anonymity of social media, Unifor is launching a new website to help journalists and media workers get the help they need when they need it.

“The harassment journalists face on the job is simply horrific. It is often racist and misogynist, and cannot be tolerated,” said Unifor Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne, herself a former journalist.

This weekend is one of the most significant in the Ontario Election.

With just under two weeks left until Election Day, Unifor Regional Director Naureen Rizvi encourages all members to get out this weekend to vote and volunteer to defend workers’ rights and make their voices heard.

“This is your shot. Sign up to volunteer today with the Unifor Votes campaign. Our volunteers will connect you with events across the province, and together, we will make a difference,” said Rizvi.

In celebration of Personal Support Worker Day on May 19, 2022 Unifor salutes the contributions of the thousands of Unifor members who work as Personal Support Workers (PSWs) in Ontario, and Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) in Nova Scotia.

More than 100 members gathered in Thunder Bay on May 13-14 for the annual Northern Ontario Leadership Meeting to strategize on how to best organize and elect progressive politicians in the upcoming Ontario provincial elections. 

Unifor called on the Biden’s top trade officials to put an end to aggressive and unfair trade policies affecting Canadian workers at an in-person Roundtable on Labour and Trade with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Katherine Tai, Canada’s Minister of International Trade Mary Ng and Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan,

This column originally appeared in the Toronto Star on May 7, 2022

The price of food, gasoline and other consumer goods is rising fast — faster, it seems, than most workers’ wages can keep up. Average prices rose by 6.7% last month, compared with the year prior. Average wages, on the other hand, fell by 1.6%.

Most economists seem confounded by the root cause of inflation.

From St. John’s to Windsor to Vancouver and even in Mexico, Unifor members united behind a worker’s vision a better future on May Day.

Reports the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is about to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that protects a woman’s bodily autonomy in choosing to have a safe abortion, have sent a shockwave around the world.

Our collective grasp on women’s rights is frail, even, clearly, in countries that view themselves as world leaders. Generations of women have had to fight against the systematic and purposeful erosion of the ability to exercise our freedom of choice. There is perhaps no greater symbol of lost ground on our basic freedoms than the impending defeat of Roe v. Wade.

REGINA—Unifor has re-issued its call for the Saskatchewan government to immediately increase minimum wage to at least $15 per hour to match neighbouring Alberta.

“Premier Scott Moe has kept Saskatchewan’s minimum wage artificially low,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “Something is wrong when working full-time for the minimum wage in Saskatchewan doesn’t get you above the poverty line.”